"The Ultimate Fighter 7" episode seven recap

Team Rampage and Team Forrest split last week’s two-fight episode. Team Forrest’s Matt Brown KO’d Jeremy May with a headkick, which was followed by Team Jackson’s Dan Cramer submission of Luke Zachrich.

Now, with Team Forrest owning a dominating 4-1 lead, we head into episode No. 6.

Thanks to Cramer’s win, coach Quinton Jackson is stoked to have matchmaking duties for the first time. Better yet, many of Team Forrest’s top guys have already advanced to the quarterfinals, so Team Rampage fighters should find some favorable match-ups. That sparks an impromptu air-guitar session from Rampage.

We then head to the gym for an immediate fight announcement, where Rampage announces that Gerald Harris will meet Team Forrest’s Amir Sadollah. Rampage expects his wrestler to defeat their kickboxer, and the following training session show us how much Gerald enjoys tossing around and slamming his opponents. He reminds me of a bigger Josh Burkman, but Rampage calls him a “mini-me.”

Back at Team Forrest, Amir says that his lack of a professional record probably caused Team Rampage to underestimate him. His coach, Forrest Griffin, knows that Amir isn’t thrilled about fighting a wrestler and knows his confidence is shaky. So to inspire him, Forrest promises to shave half his own head — and keep it that way — if Amir can pull off the victory.

“So yeah, I’ll be coaching against you tomorrow,” Forrest jokes.

Just minutes later, the fighters take the cage for their preliminary bout. Gerald (7-2) says he’s fighting to take care of his two kids. Amir (0-0) simply tries to convince himself he’s not the underdog everyone’s making him out to be.

Referee Josh Rosenthal gets things started, and we’re underway. After a touch of the gloves, Gerald shoots early and quickly secures the double-leg takedown. Amir is pushed against the fence and glances his opponent with some solid elbows from below. Gerald, though, pops out of Amir’s guard and rains down some punches. Amir reclaims full guard but eats some additional punches and elbows while jockeying for position. Once Gerald creates distance, though, Amir gets back to his feet and works diligently to fend off another takedown. However, Gerald simply picks him up and slams him WWE-style back to the mat. Amir, though, kicks his way free and again gets to his feet, but Gerald again picks him up and slams him back to the mat. (Notice a trend?) The two fighters trade some punches, and then Amir kicks his way free again. Gerald swarms in for the takedown, and Amir narrowly misses landing a flying knee in the process. Gerald grabs a foot to force the takedown, but Amir claims top position and unleashes a quick burst of punches to the side of the head. Amir returns to his feet again and fends off the takedown as the round ends. It’s a moral victory for Amir, but the round should go to Gerald, 10-9.

As the second round gets underway, Amir has a bruised and bloodied right eye but appears in good health and spirits. After taking the center of the cage, Amir lands a solid leg kick but is then forced to defend Gerald’s takedown attempt. He just about sprawls out of it, before Gerald sweeps his legs out from under him. Amir, though, gets back to his feet, fends off a single-leg takedown attempt, and glances Gerald with a knee. Gerald quickly shoots again, but Amir sprawls and delivers some punches to the body. Amir may have finally figured him out. Gerald remains on his knees from the shot, so Amir rolls over to take his back. Gerald springs back to his feet and delivers a flurry of punches to set up the double-leg takedown. The action stalls against the fence before Amir gets back to his feet. Gerald quickly unloads some right uppercuts, but Amir counters with a right knee that lands flush to Gerald’s head. The blow drops him to the mat, and Amir immediately drops down to deliver a barrage of punches. The referee jumps in to stop it seconds later, and Amir claims the upset TKO victory.

Gerald angrily protests the stoppage while Team Forrest celebrates the victory.

After the decision is announced, Gerald has an emotional outburst back in the locker room. As much as this show has become stale and formulaic, the reality of it all still hits you in the face from time to time. Gerald breaks down and talks about all the people he let down, but Rampage steps in to calm him down and reassure him he hasn’t disappointed anyone.

Back at the house, Team Rampage’s Patrick Schultz and C.B. Dollaway talk about the two remaining match-ups for the preliminary round. Patrick says Cale Yarbrough better pick him. Otherwise, he says, he’s just a p***y.

We quickly jump to the “TUF” gym for fight announcements, and sure enough, Patrick gets his desired fight with Cale. (And by process of elimination, C.B. will fight Nick Klein.)

Forrest explains that the Patrick-Cale fight will be a stand-up war. Rampage, though, predicts it won’t be much of a fight at all since Cale has 17 pounds to cut, and by then, he’ll be so tired “that my momma could beat him.”

During the pre-fight preparations, Cale says that his opponent never really deserved to be on the show anyway since Luke Zachrich beat him in an elimination bout. Patrick, who replaced Paul Bradley (who was sent home with a contagious skin condition), says he’ll prove he belongs there.

Both fighters apparently make weight, and we’re soon set for a fight between Team Rampage’s Patrick (7-1-1) and Team Forrest’s Cale (0-0).

Referee Steve Mazzagatti has the honors, and we’re underway. Patrick rears up for a big right hand, misses, but then shoves Cale across the cage. Back to the center of the cage, and the fighters trade jabs and kicks before Cale connects on a solid body kick. Patrick responds with a stiff right before the fighters again trade a series of jabs. Patrick then again connects on a right that drops Cale to his back. However, he stays alert but eats some punches on his way back up. Cale lands a knee and some punches as Patrick continues throwing big power shots. Both fighters are whiffing on most strikes now, though, before Patrick sneaks through a couple rights. Cale follows with a body kick, and the fighters then begin trading punches in bunches. Halfway through the round, though, both guys look a little tired. The punches keep coming, though, and Patrick lands an overhand right before Cale scores the takedown and a breather. Working from inside his opponent’s guard, Cale delivers punches to the head and body before Patrick gets back to his feet. The pace again slows, and after Patrick lands a punch to the gut, Cale again scores the takedown. He spends the remainder of the round throwing fairly ineffective punches to the head and body. It’s a tough one to score. Patrick did slightly more damage, but the takedowns likely stole Cale the round, 10-9.

Round two begins much like the first, and the fighters unleash vicious body kicks and punches. Cale lands some jabs, but Patrick counters with those consistent right-hand punches that find the mark. After a brief clinch, Cale then pops his opponent with a knee to the face that may have dazed Patrick. He follows up with the takedown and begins landing hammerfists and elbows from inside Patrick’s guard. After moving into half-guard, Cale continues landing elbows and punches to the body. He then works the face with a flurry of blows and continues receiving instructions as he works from his own corner. Cale successfully smothers, strikes, then smothers to stay just busy enough to avoid a stand-up. However, he soon turns up the intensity and lands combinations to the face and body. Patrick’s doing his best to tie up his opponent, but Cale lands at least one solid punch for every two that he throws. In the final minute, the blows connect with increasing frequency, and Cale finishes the round with a dangerous flurry. It’s a clear 10-9 round for Cale in what could be a 20-18 victory.

Sure enough, no tiebreaker is needed. However, before the decision is read, Forrest and Quinton both campaign for a third round. Although Forrest seems to be saying it in jest, the entire cast soon rallies behind the plans and cheers for a third round. Patrick seems to take offense to Forrest’s posturing and tells him “to get in the corner” and that he “can’t wait” until he has to fight Rampage.

Forrest laughs it off just before Cale is announced the winner via majority decision.

“My two class clowns are losing their f***ing minds and want to Ken and Tito each other right now,” Dana White says, referring to season-three rival coaches Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz. “It’s so weird.”

In any manner, Team Forrest owns a dominating 6-1 lead. (Oh, and wasn’t Forrest supposed to shave his head? Hmm.)

In any manner, next week we get the result of the C.B. vs. Nick preliminary fight, and the quarterfinal match-ups are revealed.

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Don’t forget about tomorrow’s “Ten TUF Questions” feature here at
MMAjunkie.com. If you have a question for Gerald Harris or Patrick Schultz, leave it in
the comments section below. We’ll use the best ones for tomorrow’s
interviews. Also, don’t forget to check out tomorrow’s MMAjunkie.com blogs from Luke Zachrich and C.B. Dollaway.

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